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Approaching 25 years in Brisbane residential project marketing, Position Property founder and principal Richard Lawrence shares his insights into how the industry has changed, the keys to successful project delivery and his vision for the years ahead...
When we started the business in 1999, selling apartments off plan was very different.
The apartments and townhomes were generally smaller, poorly designed by today’s standards and were largely seen as an investor or entry-level product.
Our first project was The Cannery in Teneriffe—a very different suburb to what we now know it to be.
Originally built in 1919 as the Queensland State Canning Works to manufacture jam and preserve, reflecting the importance of primary produce and manufacturing following World War I.
Part of a citywide urban renewal initiative, Teneriffe is amongst a number of suburbs (along with others such as West End and South Brisbane) to evolve from an industrial hub—due to the riverfront location—to one of Brisbane’s premier residential suburbs.
We marketed and sold The Cannery during a time when technology solutions driven by the internet and mobile phones were in their infancy.
Artist impressions were hand-painted images of the building, there was a heavy dependence on traditional media such as newspapers and we were provided with the basic tools to sell.
Since then, apartment and townhome design in Brisbane, as in many growing urban areas around the world, has undergone significant change. Design evolution is being driven by lifestyle preferences, technological advancements, regulatory and environmental considerations.
We collaborate closely with developer clients and their teams, as they value our ability to take insights from buyers we are dealing with today to influence the design of their future projects.
More recently, we’ve led design thinking such as the direction for resident amenity and how the home space will be used by the resident to ensure efficient and functional design outcomes, such as working from home, flexible spaces and kitchen features including breakfast bars, butler’s pantries and sculleries.
This demand from our clients and the broader market led us to formalise our offering, with Position Development Consulting launched in 2022.
Honoured to be recognised with the Australasian Real Estate Results Awards (ARERA) Agency of the Year 2024 and Project Marketing Agency of the Year for the past six years, Position Property’s experience across all types of market dynamics has honed our approach, with our strategies and close collaboration with clients resulting in 16 of our current apartment and townhome projects now under construction.
We start with the buyer profile, to understand their requirements and how they will use the space, to ensure the product is positioned appropriately in the market and achieves sales at the prices required for delivery.
Focussed collaboration with the developer, architect, builder and often financiers to develop sales strategies to maximise gross revenue throughout the selling period.
Creating unique release strategies with a measured rate of sale to ensure delivery in this more complex market environment.
We develop sales and pricing strategies unique to each project, as there is no set formula for success.
We take a very considered approach to each project, starting with construction costs and delivery goals to reverse engineer our strategies.
What can we look to in the future? More advanced construction techniques are already emerging, such as apartments, townhomes and even luxury hotels built using modular pods resulting in assembly on site in an accelerated schedule within months.
Advances such as these will continue to influence how new homes are designed and sold.
At the other end of the spectrum, the off-plan luxury house market is a growing sector, with boutique developers pushing the boundaries of design and inclusions in highly sought-after areas.
A more liveable and sustainable approach to design is always at the forefront in new residential project delivery, ensuring the space is flexible to change with residents’ needs over time.
No longer an entry level or investor property product, an increasing share of buyers are choosing apartment and townhome living due to the range of locations, amenity and convenience on offer and lifestyle benefits to enjoy.
The new approaches to apartment and townhome design appeal to a far wider range of buyer demographics; from young couples seeking a space that will grow with them as they start their families, downsizers who may still have one or two adult children at home to more sophisticated first home buyers whose goal is building a long-term portfolio of investment properties.
A future-thinking approach combined with today’s market knowledge ensures each project is set for not only market acceptance but successful delivery.
The Urban Developer is proud to partner with Position Property to deliver this article to you. In doing so, we can continue to publish our daily news, information, insights and opinion to you, our valued readers.
